Day 26
Whaaaaaaaat is happening here?! This has got to be the weirdest book of the Bible (and I say that knowing there’s many more to go!) This book doesn’t mess around. It begins with an absolutely otherworldly vision of God (see image below) with spinning circles, domes, winged beasts, a sapphire throne, rainbows, fire, and a blurry figure of God. Oh, yeah, the spinning circles are covered in EYES. Go ahead, look closely at that image. Yeah.
I enjoyed this book at first. It was so wild I couldn’t stop reading. It was, as I experienced in Isaiah and Jeremiah, more prophecies about the exile and eventual return. But Ezekiel had character. Isaiah was beautiful but I never got to know him. Jeremiah let me in a little and was more elaborate. Ezekiel, though? I was riding the Tower of Terror on repeat with this guy. And then the troubling language about women popped up. Chapters of it. I realize I am reflecting on this in 2021 and I don’t have the context of the original Hebrew or the culture, but a quick glance let’s me know that the English translation was softened in its intensity. Apparently, God drops the Hebrew version of the F-bomb.
The extent to which the author of this book stresses images of prostitution must have meant something for the people at the time. But I can see why, searching around for info on just how mind boggling this book is, there’s a number of feminist commentaries on this.
Beyond these troubling chapters, I was still along for the ride. The wheels and beasts show up here and there. There’s the famous dry bones metaphor and a bit about a defiled jug of stew. Plus, and it’s been a while since I’ve had this, architectural specifications close out the book.
Emotionally, I felt the wrath of God here. It hasn’t been this intense since the Torah and there was an interesting way that God related to Ezekiel: He always referred to Zeke as “mortal.” You don’t see God going out of his way to do this in other books. Why would God bother, right? But no, it’s clear that God is immortal and we are but rebellious creations.
But from that wrath there’s always glimmers of hope and restoration. The final 9 chapters are spent specifying the new temple and what a glory it will be for the Israelites. In this world with our troubles as they are, it feels appropriate to begin with very colorful and elaborate vengeance and end with detail-oriented hope.
One Word for Ezekiel: Kaleidoscopic
Parts of the Text That Stayed With Me
- Ezek 1, Vision of God. See the image above. Read it for yourself. Just…wow.
- Ezek 3, Eating the Divine Scroll. But wait, there’s more! A divine scroll comes from heaven and Ezekiel takes hold. God, naturally, tells Ezekiel to eat it. So he does! And guess what? The scroll tastes like honey.
- Ezek 10, Coals in Those Wheels. Remember the vision of God? (Again, see above.) There’s burning hot coals in those wheels…to dump on Jerusalem.
- Ezek 15 & 23, Troubling Commentary on Women. In what was an otherwise fine psychedelic journey, the sexually explicit commentaries on women are now seared into my memory. Feminist and queer commentaries find some usefulness in these texts.
- Ezek 37: 1-14, Valley of Dry Bones. A valley of dry bones is reanimated. Necromancy at its finest!
- Ezek 40-48, Architecture Class. And why not end with specifications for the new temple after that helluva ride?
This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.